The Gazprom-RusVelo cycling team have formally suspended its activities and released their riders and staff from their contracts, with team manager Renat Khamidulin accusing UCI president David Lappartient of doing nothing to try to help the team try to survive.
The riders and staff are now free to find new teams but even the most successful riders such as UAE Tour stage winner Mathias Vacek and team leader Ilnur Zakarin will struggle to find new teams mid-season, with 2022 budgets allocated.
The UCI updated its rules as of March 1 to allow Russian and Belarusian riders to pursue contracts with other teams not registered in those countries to allow them to continue to compete.
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994.